My great grandmother, Mary Helena(Nugent)Regan had an Uncle by the name of Joseph P. Nugent. I recently found out that he was shot and killed in January of 1918. He was a mail carrier, and at about 5:30 in the morning on January 21st, 1918 he was shot in the chest and died on January 24th.

I was wondering if anyone could find out if there is any more information on what happened or if there was an investigation or trial of any kind.

Thanks for any information.

He was murdered by Paul Eitner.

https://www.pbase.com/image/89488566

https://www.rockislandauc...n-revolver

[Edited by Don Birkholz (11/11/2021 3:46:39 AM)]

[Edited by Don Birkholz (11/11/2021 3:55:55 AM)]

Thanks, Don! Very interesting. This story was never told by the family.

I know I have done at least one history column on the subject. The murderer was insane and ended up in Deer Lodge. They called him Turkey Pete. One of his relatives was writing a book about him. Weird, sad story all in all.

I bought the book "The Life and Legend of Turkey Pete". Amorette got a thank you for contributing to the research.

https://www.amazon.com/LI...229&sr=8-1

Joseph Nugent was my Great Grandmother's brother, not her Uncle. Paul Eitner, aka "Turkey Pete", was kicked in the head by a wild horse while working out at Ft. Keogh. He was lucky to survive the injury. That may have contributed to his mental issues leading up to the murder. He was also dealing with paranoia due to the anti-German sentiment at the time, as he was a German immigrant.

An excerpt from the book:

"It did not take long for the city of Miles City to be buzzing with the news. Joe Nugent's Irish immigrant family moved to the city from Boston a decade earlier and was well known in the area. Nugent had many acquaintances along his route in town. His brother was a soldier in the U.S. Army serving in the war. His sister, Mary, was married to James Regan, owner of Regan Plumbing and Heating. The entire family was active in the community, the Catholic Church, and considered great patriots."

An interesting piece of family history.

I worked in the summers of 1961 and 1962 for Agnes Nugent at Nugent’s Transfer and Storage. Nugent’s was located next to the old Northern Pacific Depot. I recall humping a heavy safe out of an upstairs office on Main Street, with another Nugent employee, when someone said to us that he had watched old man Nugent hump that safe up here by himself.